How I discovered the truth about the ‘herbal’ sleeping pills I got hooked on

Fiona Cameron has struggled to get a good night’s sleep for most of her adult life – but none of the medication available in pharmacies helped.

She turned to Amazon and found a product called Hypno by Bhang, which was described as “herbal sleep aid supplements, for deep restful sleep”.

They worked, so she bought more. But after a year, she discovered the pills were actually Zopiclone, a prescription drug designed for short-term use.

In that time Fiona had developed a dependency and she suffered severe withdrawal symptoms when she tried to come off them.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulation Agency (MHRA) said it was investigating the products.

Amazon said it had also launched an investigation and had removed the sleeping pills from its store.

Fiona, a fiction writer who lives in Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway, spoke to BBC Radio 4’s Your and Yours about her experience.

She said: “I suffered from insomnia for a very long time – most of my adult life – so I’m always on the look out for anything new.”

On a good night, she can get four to five hours sleep.

“But sometimes I just can’t sleep at all, other times I maybe get two or three hours of sleep, so I’m not a good sleeper,” she said.

Her GP had offered to prescribe Zopiclone for a very short period but she refused and “soldiered on”.